11foot8 bridge lives on...

Pretty common occurrence on the parkways in the northeast.

when they say no trucks, they mean no trucks.
 
This is a bridge in Durham, NC. There are signs every block around it that says "low bridge, 11' 8", no trucks". So someone put up a camera and a website to record the fun.

Website
http://11foot8.com/

There is a report they are going to increase the clearance.
 
Looks like just another inch would have done it. Or maybe a little less air in the tires.
 
“But I was only 11’9”. It’s close enough that it should’ve fit!”

they need a sign on the other side that says, “you’re an idiot!”
 
bflynn said:
This is a bridge in Durham, NC. There are signs every block around it that says "low bridge, 11' 8", no trucks". So someone put up a camera and a website to record the fun.

Website
http://11foot8.com/

There is a report they are going to increase the clearance.
Click to expand...

They already did. It's 12'4" in that video.

They can idiot proof that bridge all they want, a better idiot will eventually come along and hit it.
 
I believe this footage is after the actual clearance has been increased to 12'6".



I just took my CDL test. You are expected to call out every clearance sign along the route or state that there is no such sign present. The 11'8" bridge mostly seems to catch non-CDL vehicles.
 
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weilke said:
I believe this footage is after the actual clearance has been increased to 12'6".



I just took my CDL test. You are expected to call out every clearance sign along the route or state that there is no such sign present. The 11'8" bridge mostly seems to catch non-CDL vehicles.
Click to expand...

I hope your TruckerDPE checked your truckermath, because 11'8" plus 8" is not 12'6" under any bridge, anywhere. ;)
 
Maybe he cleared it coming from the other direction with an extra 10k lbs in the back, and he was on the return leg after dropping off the load.
I hope he took out the full insurance!
 
Lachlan said:
I hope your TruckerDPE checked your truckermath, because 11'8" plus 8" is not 12'6" under any bridge, anywhere. ;)
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Metric feet ;-)





I dont think I made any statement about the number of inches of increase. I remember that the bridge was raised (or the road lowered) recently and 12'6" was the number I remembered.
 
weilke said:
Metric feet ;-)





I dont think I made any statement about the number of inches of increase. I remember that the bridge was raised (or the road lowered) recently and 12'6" was the number I remembered.
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Oh. Well, it’s in the first 4 seconds of the video. I figured you’d watched it. :D
 
There is a bridge here that is 13' 2''. Not really a bridge but a tunnel that goes under the interstate. It is a back road so any trucks that end up on that road are usually lost. There is a wide area off road to turn around in.

A few weeks ago an 18 wheeler was up to the tunnel. They were looking to see if they could make it. The drivers actually let air out of the trailer tires and cleared it with....well.... a few spots rubbed the top. But they made it.

The tunnel is about 70-80 feet long. I love accelerating through it and before getting out I let off the throttle so I can hear the turbo.
 
When we had a marina, we had to move a very large boat from one side of the road to the other under a bridge. It was really close—wouldn't quite make it—so we flooded the bilge with a few hundred gallons of water. That worked.
Locally, the dug the road down under a low road bridge, to get the required clearance (all new bridges must be built to such a standard.) Now water pools under the bridge.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
When we had a marina, we had to move a very large boat from one side of the road to the other under a bridge. It was really close—wouldn't quite make it—so we flooded the bilge with a few hundred gallons of water. That worked.
Locally, the dug the road down under a low road bridge, to get the required clearance (all new bridges must be built to such a standard.) Now water pools under the bridge.
Click to expand...
They’re flooding the bilge for more clearance. ;)
 
If you watch very closely, you will see that the shaving is only on the left 2 feet of the truck, and he was 3 feet from the curb. The crown is very significant, and if he had been close to the curb, he would have made it.

I don't understand why he ignored the flashing amber sign. If he had sneaked up slowly, got out and looked, he may have made a more intelligent choice. Rental drivers are often oblivious to height of their vehicles.

Class A commercial license here.
 
geezer said:
I don't understand why he ignored the flashing amber sign.
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If you read more from the site, the sign is activated by the oversized truck. There are sensors on the previous block that activate the sign when an over-sized truck is approaching. He lists the average, I think it's about one truck hitting the bar per month.

A few months ago they raised the overpass from 11'8" to 12'4", as indicated by the signs. Actual clearance is slightly higher.
 
and he kept going...love it!

Anyone notice that it looks anyway like if they hadn't put that yellow bar in front of the bridge they'd likely have cleared the bridge?
 
Brad W said:
Anyone notice that it looks anyway like if they hadn't put that yellow bar in front of the bridge they'd likely have cleared the bridge?
Click to expand...
Of course. The bar is always going to be slightly lower than the bridge it protects.
 
flhrci said:
as 11foot8+8

Click to expand...

There is a bridge like that where I live - at a freeway offramp. In spite of all the signs, it still catches an unwary trucker now and then. I have seen a box truck with the top peeled
back like a sardine can - and an 18-wheeler laying on it's side underneath. Not sure how he managed that.

Of course it is a railroad underpass (as is the one in the video). Wonder why substandard rairoad underpasses (of which there are many) never seem to get fixed?

Dave
 
cessna182b said:
Of course it is a railroad underpass (as is the one in the video). Wonder why substandard rairoad underpasses (of which there are many) never seem to get fixed?
Click to expand...

Because nobody wants to pay for it. The RR built the original bridges before there was a highway standard and the municipality thinks it's not their job to fix the RRs bridge by digging the road in deeper (and the utility re-route and drainage issues that creates). RR bridges and crossings are an odd duck when it comes to infrastructure.
 
I wonder what the losses have been over the years, at this bridge.
Help me with the numbers:
30K loss per incident? Maybe more depending on vehicle contents?
Wiki says 145 (in 11 years) have been recorded - perhaps there were others not recorded?
With what we know;
=$4,350,000 ? Not huge.

And I guess there were some injuries.

Not defending silly drivers but....it does keep happening.
And we fully expect the losses/injuries to continue.
Usually an authority will step up to 'protect us from ourselves', so this situation seems a bit odd. (not saying they should do anything, just armchairing)
 
I work in an old 'railroad town' that is criss-crossed by tracks from historically competing RRs. My neighborhood is currently unreachable from the center of town because two years ago an over-height train took out two of the three bridges across a RR cut. CSX tells the city that they will replace 'their' bridges whenever they get around to do so. The mayor can beg and plead but the way how RR rights and city rights intersect, there is no way to force CSX to provide a bridge or to elevate the 12'6" underpass that is the only other access. Moving trucks, FD ladder trucks etc. have to take a circuitous route to get to that part of town.
 
bflynn said:
This is a bridge in Durham, NC. There are signs every block around it that says "low bridge, 11' 8", no trucks". So someone put up a camera and a website to record the fun.

Website
http://11foot8.com/

There is a report they are going to increase the clearance.
Click to expand...

Oh my!!! My dogs were worried, my wife thought my 16 y.o. son was crying, and my son woke up...from me laughing so hard...don’t know what’s wrong with me. I got to where I started to laugh even before each incident happened. Lots of tears, my gut hurt, had to lay on the ground, and stopped cuz I was going to throw up I was laughing so hard! Thanks for sharing!!!!
 
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Let'sgoflying! said:
I wonder what the losses have been over the years, at this bridge.
Help me with the numbers:
30K loss per incident? Maybe more depending on vehicle contents?
Wiki says 145 (in 11 years) have been recorded - perhaps there were others not recorded?
With what we know;
=$4,350,000 ? Not huge.

And I guess there were some injuries.

Not defending silly drivers but....it does keep happening.
And we fully expect the losses/injuries to continue.
Usually an authority will step up to 'protect us from ourselves', so this situation seems a bit odd. (not saying they should do anything, just armchairing)
Click to expand...

It's a weird relationship the railroad companies have with safety. They don't seem to care if you hit there infrastructure, as long as it doesn't damage it, even if hundreds of people hit it in the exact same way, they ain't moving it.

We did a lot of civil design around light rail/commuter infrastructure. Our survey crews got kicked off the tracks several times by RR security. Enough that we finally decided to send us all to the RR's class and become certified to work around and on the tracks. We all completed the class, we're certified and able to signal, communicate with and stop trains. The requirements to actually do it are so over-the-top ridiculous that we just said screw that and continued to sneak around and try and get the information we needed before security came to get us.
 
455 Bravo Uniform said:
Oh my!!! My dogs were worried, my wife thought my 16 y.o. son was crying, and my son woke up...from me laughing so hard...don’t know what’s wrong with me. I got to where I started to laugh even before each incident happened. Lots of tears, my gut hurt, had to lay on the ground, and stopped cuz I was going to throw up I was laughing so hard! Thanks for sharing!!!!
Click to expand...

Please tell us how you really feel..!!! :lol::lol:
 
At War College, the bus came in under the center of the arch but when it went to leave there was traffic so it stayed to the side and got stuck. The driver let air out of the tires and backed out then went out through the center. He got allot of advice from about 30 senior officers.
 
The rail roads don't care about local infrastructure at all. The only thing they care about is what they own.
 
lancie00 said:
The rail roads don't care about local infrastructure at all. The only thing they care about is what they own.
Click to expand...

Which is actually fairly reasonable if you’ve ever had the city sewer break under the street feeding your house’s plumbing.

Want to move my stuff, I’ll send over an estimate. :)
 
lancie00 said:
The rail roads don't care about local infrastructure at all. The only thing they care about is what they own.
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In many cases, the RR infrastructure existed before all the people who now complain about it arrived. Same when folks complain about the drawbridge opening for a sailboat. There were sailboats on the river before there was a city etc.
 
weilke said:
In many cases, the RR infrastructure existed before all the people who now complain about it arrived. Same when folks complain about the drawbridge opening for a sailboat. There were sailboats on the river before there was a city etc.
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You forgot airports. :)

Those pesky noisy airplanes! :)
 
denverpilot said:
Which is actually fairly reasonable if you’ve ever had the city sewer break under the street feeding your house’s plumbing.

Want to move my stuff, I’ll send over an estimate. :)
Click to expand...
You're absolutely right, I just wish the RR didn't make it so hard to work with them. They seem to go out of their way to make it exceptionally hard and exceptionally expensive to deal with them.
 
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